The unpolluted, turquoise ocean surrounding the Marshall Islands will be what Li Shr-jie (黎世傑), who joined the alternative diplomatic-service program two years ago, misses most when he is due to leave the Pacific island nation in the middle of March.
Li, a graduate from National Taiwan University's Department of Horticulture, chose to enroll the program, a substitute for compulsory military service, because he wanted to go to Latin American countries.
When Li was informed he would be dispatched to the Marshall Islands, one of Taiwan's five allies in the Pacific, his parents were worried he could not cope with life in such a remote country.
PHOTO: MELODY CHEN, TAIPEI TIMES
"When I first came here, I had fever several times. I felt particularly lonely and bored at night," said the 26-year-old serviceman.
The alternative diplomatic-service program had proved daunting to some who signed up for it.
"When the countries we were to be sent were announced, six of the 41 boys volunteering to join it withdrew," Li said.
The government's International Cooperation and Development Fund, which coordinates the program, usually deploys servicemen to Taiwan's 27 diplomatic allies to assist local workers.
Since Li arrived on the Marshall Islands in November 2002, he has been working with Taiwan's Technical Mission in the country.
Li's daily routine includes supervising workers in the field in the mission's compound, where a five-person agricultural team, including Li, grows various kinds of fruits and vegetables and raises pigs.
Li also helps with the mission's paperwork. In his leisure time, he often goes fishing, plays basketball and visits downtown Majuro, the Marshall Islands' capital.
"I also keep two dogs," he said.
Having picked up some simple words in the local tongue, Li said he would miss his friends in the Marshall Islands when his term finishes in March.
"They love to make friends," Li said of local residents.
The technical mission arrived in August 1999 after Taiwan established diplomatic ties with the Marshall Islands in November 1998.
The Marshall Islands government allotted about three hectares of land for the technical mission.
The mission has developed roughly one hectare to grow crops and build pigsties, according to the leader of the mission, Cheng Ming-ching (鄭明欽).
An agricultural expert from Hualien, Cheng had never joined a foreign mission before going to the Marshall Islands.
"Though the soil and climate in this country are different from that of Taiwan, I don't find it difficult to get used to life here," said Cheng, whose family has moved with him to the Marshall Islands.
People in the Marshall Islands had virtually no agricultural development before the arrival of Taiwan's technical mission.
"This country has very few natural resources and government budgets for agriculture are limited," Cheng said.
Through the mission's help, 50 households in the country have turned to farming and found the results satisfying, according to Cheng.
"Local farmers find their lives improved. They get the money to furnish their houses and are able to purchase refrigerators and television sets," Cheng said.
The mission developed agriculture on the Marshall Islands from nothing, Cheng said.
The situation of starting from scratch is now faced by Michael Lu (呂瑞源), leader of Taiwan's Technical Mission to Kiribati, Taiwan's newest ally.
Lu, who followed Minister of Foreign Affairs Eugene Chien's (簡又新) delegation to Kiribati earlier this month, will be starting agricultural work in a compound that used be home to a satellite station of China's.
Many cooperation programs between Kiribati and Taiwan have begun, Samuel Chen (陳世良), Taiwan's ambassador to Kiribati, said during Chien's visit there.
A local media agency, the Broadcasting and Publications Authority, which ran a story on the opening of Taiwan's embassy in Kiribati, is seeking assistance to improve its printing technology.
The agency consists of a publication manager, an editor, an assistant editor, two reporters, two printers and one typist.
The main function of the agency is to "produce a weekly bilingual newspaper aiming at informing local readers about a variety of events and issues that occur within the community, the government, the Pacific region and the world," said Tibewere Bobo, the publication manager.
The agency produces a weekly called Te Uekera meaning "The Tree of Knowledge."
‘NON-RED’: Taiwan and Ireland should work together to foster a values-driven, democratic economic system, leveraging their complementary industries, Lai said President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday expressed hopes for closer ties between Taiwan and Ireland, and that both countries could collaborate to create a values-driven, democracy-centered economic system. He made the remarks while meeting with an Irish cross-party parliamentary delegation visiting Taiwan. The delegation, led by John McGuinness, deputy speaker of the Irish house of representatives, known as the Dail, includes Irish lawmakers Malcolm Byrne, Barry Ward, Ken O’Flynn and Teresa Costello. McGuinness, who chairs the Ireland-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Association, is a friend of Taiwan, and under his leadership, the association’s influence has grown over the past few years, Lai said. Ireland is
FINAL COUNTDOWN: About 50,000 attended a pro-recall rally yesterday, while the KMT and the TPP plan to rally against the recall votes today Democracy activists, together with arts and education representatives, yesterday organized a motorcade, while thousands gathered on Ketagalan Boulevard in Taipei in the evening in support of tomorrow’s recall votes. Recall votes for 24 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers and suspended Hsinchu City mayor Ann Kao (高虹安) are to be held tomorrow, while recall votes for seven other KMT lawmakers are scheduled for Aug. 23. The afternoon motorcade was led by the Spring Breeze Culture and Arts Foundation, the Tyzen Hsiao Foundation and the Friends of Lee Teng-hui Association, and was joined by delegates from the Taiwan Statebuilding Party and the Taiwan Solidarity
An SOS message in a bottle has been found in Ireland that is believed to have come from the Taiwanese captain of fishing vessel Yong Yu Sing No. 18 (永裕興18號), who has been missing without a trace for over four years, along with nine Indonesian crew members. The vessel, registered to Suao (蘇澳), went missing near Hawaii on Dec. 30, 2020. The ship has since been recovered, but the 10 crew members have never been found. The captain, surnamed Lee (李), is believed to have signed the note with his name. A post appeared on Reddit on Tuesday after a man
Instead of threatening tariffs on Taiwan-made chips, the US should try to reinforce cooperation with Taiwan on semiconductor development to take on challenges from the People’s Republic of China (PRC), a Taiwanese think tank said. The administration of US President Donald Trump has threatened to impose across-the-board import duties of 32 percent on Taiwan-made goods and levy a separate tariff on semiconductors, which Taiwan is hoping to avoid. The Research Institute for Democracy, Society, and Emerging Technology (DSET), a National Science and Technology Council think tank, said that US efforts should focus on containing China’s semiconductor rise rather than impairing Taiwan. “Without